Falling Threads
by theSilver-Sapphire
Summary: Kagome is stuck with an arranged marriage to stop a war, Inuyasha has to deal with Sesshomaru, and Sango and Miroku are in rooms next to each other! Does romance bloom or die? IxK MXS


Hey, tis is, aka Lady Lily of Legend here. Welcome 2 my first fic. Well, sorta.. i deleted all my other cuz no one commented. tears up, wipes face W-well, I-i've m-moved o... o... onnn... WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!

several hours later, when Lady stopped bawling

Well, u get the gist of it. plz rvw. This IS an InuxKags fic!

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Kagome Higurashsi, Princess of the western kingdom, propped her head on one hand and continued reading. She turned the page, pointedly ignoring the fact that her best friend of two years, Inuyasha, was sitting cross-legged on top of her bookshelf. He scratched one ear boredly, then leapt down.

The problem with their friendship was that he was an inuyoukai. The western kingdom had been at war with the Southern kingdom, the one that his family ruled, for so long that no one remembered what had begun the war.

They had met when Kagome was 13. She had just been 'lectured' by her father, and was sobbing blindly as she fled through a secret passageway to the woods. She had run until her breathe came short (which was not very far, even for a human), and collapsed on a log. She wished desperately aloud, "I wish I were stronger… then I could stand up to him…"

Being a princess, she lead a pampered life. She was not physically very strong, except for her arms, since she could pull a bow, even at that age, that few seasoned soldiers could manage. Her aim, with a bow or a throwing dagger, were impeccable. (She had to practice often, in case she were ever kidnapped by an inuyoukai.)

"Stand up to who?" a gruff voice growled. She whirled and saw Inuyasha, sulking in a tree branch over her head. She had attempted to skewer him with a dagger tucked in his sleeve. He'd jumped down, pinned her to the tree, and demanded to know her name. Their friendship had begun when she bit his hand, and he admiringly wiped it off and introduced himself, letting her free.

They shared little except for the fact that they were both exhausted of being pushed around by their elders. They grew a forbidden friendship, which could be considered traitorous treason yaysies! Alliteration outside of English class, meeting in the woods. She gave the excuse of practicing where no one would bother her, but went further than was supposed to be allowed, and escaped her bodyguards every time. He didn't need an excuse: she listened in disbelief as he told her that he was allowed to come and go whenever he wanted. And lately, when her parents restricted the rebellious teenager even more and refused to allow her into the woods, he had taken to meeting her in a certain room with a window near the woods, at a certain time and day. The secret meetings were risky, but he was the only friend she could make who probably wouldn't be killed without warning, and vice versa: neither were allowed anywhere near a battlefield.

The soft-eared boy ran a hand through his silvered hair. "Kagome, you are very boring," he informed her.

"My mother wants me to research the origins of the wolf-demon clan," she sighed. "If I can't tell her exactly how they started, she'll eat my head off."

"But this is… a _library_," he said in disgust, as if that were an excellent reason to destroy the room. "Let's go for a ride or something."

"Not until I find…" She trailed off, frowning. "That's odd. The index said that it was supposed to be in here, but it's not. I think the page was cut out. Look!" She thrust it under his nose, pointing to where the neat edges of a page protruded. The page numbers skipped from 124 to 127 around the remnants.

"That's exciting," he said dully. "I wish your parents would still let you into the forest This castle is so much quieter than mine, but it's even more boring. And no matter how carefully we plan, you're always busy."

The bookshelf Inuyasha had been sitting on teetered and fell on his head. Books overflowed on the floor, crushing him.

"Exciting enough for you?" she sighed, standing to gather the books. A tanned hand popped through the pile and clawed the air, searching for a grip. Kagome smacked it. "My mother is going to be furious," she muttered. "Are you aware of how many rare and delicate books were on that shelf?"

"Mmrph," he responded angrily, and the hand dug into the carpet. Inuyasha wiggled out, rubbing his head. "I'll have you know that thing was _heavy_," he grunted, kicking it irritably. She rolled her eyes as he attempted to heave it back up.

"Oh, leave it," she said after watching him try to push it into a steady position for a few minutes. "You'll do nothing but cause a bigger mess."

The shelf toppled to the other side, causing a domino effect. Books flew everywhere as eight leviathan cabinets fell, the last breaking a window and scratching the wall. Kagome groaned, her head in her hands.

A servant girl appeared, peering around the door. "Your Highness?" she asked timidly. "I thought I heard…" She saw the bookshelves and gawked openly. Kagome cast about frantically. Inuyasha, to her relief, was gone. He'd left her with the blame, but not the accusation of treason. She scowled viciously.

"I had an accident," she said, and tried desperately to look dignified. The maid nodded, staring. Inuyasha visited frequently, and he always managed to destroy something.

"Her Majesty has commanded your presence at once," she recited, bowing deeply. That was odd: usually her presence was 'requested', not commanded. "I do not know what affairs she wishes to discuss," she offered, answering Kagome's question before they could be asked. "If Your Highness pleases?"

Kagome sighed, already following. If her mother had commanded her to come, she could hardly refuse. "I'm very sorry about…" she started, waving a hand at the chaos that had once been a library.

"Oh, it's no problem, Your Highness," she servant said quickly. "She is waiting. And Highness?"

Kagome peered more intently at the girl's uneasy face. "What is it? You can tell me."

"I think… I think I saw an inuyoukai before your mother," she whispered, glancing up and down the hall. "With Her Majesty- and His Majesty. He returned a short while ago from his hunt. He was not in chains, or under any restriction… but he _was_ kneeling. I know that, and I am almost sure I saw dog ears."

Kagome gawked, but quickly composed herself. "Thank you for warning me," she said formally as she approached the doors. How could a dog demon have entered the castle so easily?

Her parents sat on the throne, her father's expression distant, her mother drumming her fingers. Usually her mother would have gone to hug Kagome already: she wondered why they were actually following the formalities. And not kneeling, but standing with an arrogant air before them in dark blue robes threaded with gold…

Kagome did a double take. It was a dog demon.

He rose as she entered and bowed. "Kagome, my daughter," her father called. She realized she'd frozen a few paces from the door. Had they found out she was friendly with one of their kind? Why wasn't that creature dead, skewered on Western spears? "Come forth. Meet Kantouta, of the Southern kingdom." The kingdom of dogs. Al but one of whom wanted to kill her and her family. "He has come in peace, under a white flag, and he has a proposal."

She bowed carefully to the demon, keeping her eyes on him, and walked in a wide semicircle around him to stand between her parent's thrones.

The youkai stood proud, too proud for Kagome's liking, too proud for a man in enemy territory, gazing at them with bronzed eyes. "High Lord Sesshomaru sends you his greetings," he said tonelessly. "He grows restless and weary of this war, which costs us more warriors than we can afford, while the wolf-demons prowl at our backs. As I have proposed to His and Her Majesty, High Lord Sesshomaru has offered a truce…"

Kagome's heard leaped in her throat. Inuyasha wouldn't have to sneak into the castle to talk with her. Maybe she could tell her family they'd known each other for two years.

"… by marriage," the envoy finished. There was a short silence.

"Marriage between our parties?" Kagome said faintly. She felt numb. If they meant to marry _her_ off… some high officials would do just as well.

"Between High Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Kagome," he intoned calmly. "If the marriage is arranged and carried out within the nest three months, all hostilities from our party will cease, as will all hostilities from yours. Is this agreeable?"

A/N: This IS strictly an Inu-Kags fic, with mebbe some Sango-Miroku. Kikyo, Souta, her grandpa and Rin do not exist! Sesshomaru and Kagome will NEVER be together!

Kagome turned to her parents, dumbstruck. They were staring ahead.

"Would the Lord Sesshomaru," her father asked, carefully leaving out the 'high,' "and Lady Kagome be joint rulers of one kingdom?" He was _considering_ marrying her off to a stranger and a sworn enemy.

"Yes," the envoy said smoothly. "Our kingdoms would then become one, and those two would rule. Your Majesties would relinquish the throne, and High Lord Sesshomaru would assume the double-throne with his wife and Queen, Lady Kagome."

Kagome stared still. Sesshomaru? Inuyasha's notoriously cruel half-brother? He had been about to take the throne anyway, as his father had recently died in battle with Kagome's soldiers. But to be _married_ to a distant, cold face? To a man who had killed many of her few friends? To be expected to touch him, respect him, probably eventually _love_ him? No worries! Her repulsion at that thought WILL remain! Sesshomaru and KAGS? deep shudder

Her heart grew cold with rage. She had bumped into a soldier in the halls and soon grew to be friends with him. They respected each other and could talk, despite the differences in their station. He had gone into a battle a month later, and was disemboweled by _High Lord_ Sesshomaru.

A palace maid had obeyed her requests to stop bowing and calling Kagome 'Your Highness,' the first girl to do so, ever. She and her family were beheaded by men who got their orders directly from the heir.

"Stay in peace at our home," the Queen offered. "We shall consider your truce and inform you within the week as to our decision."

"Go now in peace and safety," the King dismissed him. "Our workers have been notified as to your presence, but I would not suggest leaving the grounds." He delicately refrained from pointing out that too many townspeople had lost friends and family to the man's armies. The youkai bowed himself out, keeping a stiff enough neck that he seemed insolent while doing it.

Kagome hardly waited for the door to close before she whirled on her parents. She ignored her father and grated to her mother, "Never."

"Kagome, think beyond yourself for once," her father said, putting a lie of weariness in his voice. He was making her sound selfish. And her mother believed him.

"Kagome, my darling, please," she sighed, motioning the guards to exit. Only two remained. "This is for the entire kingdom. I did not want to marry your father at first, but we soon grew to love each other."

"Father is not a monster," she lied, carefully shielding her tone so that it would sound as if she thought anything but that. He nodded at her. "He is not a man who murdered many of your friends, destroyed entire families and innocent infants, people defenseless in their _sleep_ over a quarrel he no longer remembers _starting!_"

"My dear, you must consider," the king sighed. "You do not have to love him. You must only pretend to. We will not be separated, and there will be no more dying."

She glared at them with a pure rage.

"We will go through with this," he said suddenly. Her mother looked only slightly surprised, as if they had agreed on that point, but decided not to let Kagome know. "Your consent is a formality. You will marry Lord Sesshomaru, and you will _not_ disgrace this kingdom by throwing a fit."

She did not dignify that with a response, but stormed out. Lightning practically crackled around her as she went to her room and slammed the door. The few servants there, tidying up, fled through hidden doors. She flung herself on the pillow and buried her head in it to scream.

Inuyasha must have lingered and heard the noise. He landed softly beside her bed through the open window and hesitantly touched her shoulder.

"Did you know?" she said bitterly, her voice muffled.

"Know what?" he asked, nonplussed.

"Is that why you wanted to go outside? So that I wouldn't be here to hear it? It would only have delayed it. You could have tried harder!" she burst out, and threw the pillow at him with all of her strength. He caught it and set it aside, waiting. It was a sign of his concern that he did so: he was not a patient person.

"What happened?" he asked slowly.

"My parents," she growled, sitting up. "One of yours just came. He offered a truce."

"That's great!" he said, and grinned a little. He sounded confused. "But what's wrong with that?"

"The truce… my parents are going to make me marry your brother," she whispered. Memories and faces flashed into her mind. She'd lost so many friends to that man. She and Inuyasha had even lost their freedom, because of his armies. She realized tears had formed in her eyes.

Inuyasha stood still. His face clouded with a strange anger. Before she could tell him to go, he had bound out the window and left her alone.

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I'm SOOOOO sorry that was so boring! I'm afraid the next one will only be able to be a little better, but the third chapter gets really juicy! I'm sorry, I swear I'll make it better! Luv u all, 'specially u, Faith!

-Unorthodox Lady Legend


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